There Is No Hidden Villain in This Novel Chapter 110

‘Fuck, he’s gorgeous. That bastard.’

That was my first thought when I saw Jeong Ian. The illusory image created from my trauma was rendered not with fog, but perfectly, just like a real person. There was none of the awkwardness of a mannequin. This bastard, really…

‘I never lived that hard a life, so why the hell…’

It was right then, as I reflexively spat out a denial. A premonition ignited throughout my entire body. It felt strangely petty, as if I had witnessed the moment a fuse sizzled its way toward an explosive. So I entrusted baby Ryuseong to Ryuseong and kicked him in the stomach. Thwack!

Before Ryuseong even had a chance to ask what I was doing, three lines of scratch marks appeared on my thigh.

Screeeech!

My eyes met Jeong Ian’s. The crazy bastard had rushed over with footwork like a feline beast and clawed my thigh. Fuck, you’re a human, why are you using your nails? Anyway, the bastard’s breath was close enough to touch me, but the next moment, I was grabbed by the nape of my neck and pulled back.

“Ryu…!”

Everything unfolded so quickly that I couldn’t even finish saying the name Ryuseong. Ryuseong charged at Jeong Ian, unleashing a massive, pure blue beam of light, while Jeong Ian stood his ground, tilted his head, and smiled brightly. And when they clashed again, a deafening roar erupted…

BAAAAAM!

CRASH! CRACK!

Ryuseong was sent flying like a shot put. He flew in a straight line and became embedded in the opposite cliff. Fortunately, he didn’t destroy the passageway on the left cliff, but he was right above it. I could feel the hunters, who were raiding the Named being called <Mirror> on the left cliff, turn around in shock. This Jeong Ian bastard, it seems he’s not just moderately strong. Seeing that, I clenched my teeth and drew a deep gash on my forearm.

In fact, this was the first time Ryuseong had been pushed back in the first exchange. From some point on, I had started to think that Ryuseong would never be defeated in this world…

…But it seems there was no room for carelessness. It’s an obvious thing that would be in a textbook, but if an enemy is in front of you, you must always give it your all. The very moment Jeong Ian shot out like the teeth of a comb, I cast a net made of blood magic in his path. It was an intricate trap that took a whole 3 seconds to construct the formula for. But…!

“Ah, you’re playing so dirty!”

Jeong Ian immediately grasped the structure of the net of flames, tore the magical core with his fingernails, and was now trying to plummet straight towards Ryuseong. Dammit! At this rate, it looks like even my magic skills are inferior to that bastard’s…!

‘…Wouldn’t it just be better to leave everything to Ryuseong?’

I mean, there’s no need for me to fight him…

The moment that thought occurred to me, I immediately jumped off the cliff.

‘It hurts my pride, you bastard!’

Why should I have to run away? It’s just an illusion made from me, so why should I have to lose the person I love because of someone like you? I hate it. I hate you, Jeong Ian…!

As I fell, I felt a gentle wind wrap around me like silk. But I didn’t let my guard down for a second. My mind felt like it was about to explode from endlessly constructing formulas. Because I had to stop Jeong Ian in mid-air!

Thanks to my magic, Jeong Ian was entangled in the ropes of the suspension bridge that had been cut off midway down the cliff, and he was grinning as if he found it amusing. That smile was so familiar it sent a shiver down my spine. But Ryuseong still seemed to be dazed, stuck and hanging from the cliff, and only baby Ryuseong was looking back and forth between me and Ryuseong, fidgeting anxiously.

After sending a telepathic message to baby Ryuseong to protect Ryuseong, I continued to fall, hoping with all my might that I wouldn’t be too late, and landed one foot on the suspension bridge that was on the verge of collapsing. Then I immediately threw my whole body forward, and just in time, our two bodies became entangled in mid-air like a rope. Craaaack! As soon as I embraced him, Jeong Ian pierced my stomach with his nails, and I choked Jeong Ian’s neck.

Crrrrunch!

I’m not skilled in physical fights. Still, I was the type of person who got A-grade scores even in subjects I wasn’t proficient in, and I was an experienced SM player who knew very well where the carotid artery was. As I pressed with all my might on the spot you should absolutely never press, Jeong Ian’s pupils slowly began to dilate. Yes, good! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die, Jeong Ian! You deserve to die, die! Die! Die! Die, I tell you!

It was at that moment. Jeong Ian’s pupils, which had been going slack and rolling upwards, suddenly regained a vivid vitality, and he pulled the nails embedded in my stomach out, tore at my back with his other hand, and with one hand, he balled it into a fist and struck my stomach hard. Fuck, it felt like my insides were spinning… No, the strength in my hands is fading. I momentarily coughed up blood and lost consciousness, and as my body went limp, I tumbled down below the fog. I thought I heard Ryuseong calling my name from above, but I couldn’t remember anything.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness completely…

“Lord de Millang! Please come to your senses!”

“Young Master! Please!”

Familiar voices suddenly reached me. As I convulsively clawed at my surroundings, I felt the ground, the very bottom. A liquid, presumed to be a potion, was forcibly poured into my blood-filled mouth, and I felt a wave of nausea. Are these bastards trying to wake me up or kill me? Still, it was effective. I woke up as I turned my head to vomit out the contents of my stomach, and the people around me began to cheer. I quickly got up to escape the scene of Kirill and Ivan Karpin smiling broadly. A bandage was wrapped over a wound on my stomach that had been closed with staples. It seemed they had treated it to prevent my organs from spilling out. And around me, shabby people, oozing with grime, were looking at me with anxious and joyful eyes. Were there this many survivors?

A quick look around suggested the rescue operation was stable. But this was no time to be relieved. It was even more so when I thought about what must be happening above. I bit my lip and tried to stand up at once, but clutched my stomach and curled up.

Kirill said to me.

“Do not move!”

“N-no. I have to go. If I don’t, cough…”

“After losing so much blood…”

“If I don’t go, you’ll all die.”

Honestly, I wanted to cry. I didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want to experience my body being torn to shreds and pierced. But this body belongs to Cassis, and if so, I have to at least pay the price for living in Cassis’s body. I have to at least protect what he wanted…

‘So, I’m in a situation where I have to become the head of the de Millang family and at least be a good son to my parents.’

Fuck. This sucks. I didn’t even want to come here, and now I have to pay the price. Still, for me. Now that I’ve seen Cassis de Millang’s past, now that things have turned out this way, there was no other choice. I couldn’t refuse. I had no choice but to charge in.

“Something might fall while I’m fighting. Be careful not to get hit in the head.”

“Are you really going? In that state…?”

“I’m used to it.”

That’s a lie. There’s no way I’d be okay with something like this being familiar.

Still, if I were Cassis de Millang.

Because I think this is how he would have wanted to smile.

“It’s okay.”

There was nothing more to say. I immediately leaped up. And I began to use a lightness technique, as if kicking off the cliff face. As I sent mana flowing through my energy channels, my dantian once again began to throb, throb, trembling as if feeling a heartbeat. Unstable mana. Still, this world that I can use if I just suppress it… I thought that it wasn’t so bad.

To keep living, I had to kill Jeong Ian.

I finally broke free from the foggy vision and leaped up above it.

I saw Ryuseong, with the rising sun as his halo, fighting Jeong Ian.

It was overwhelming.

That is, Jeong Ian was overwhelming.

But it wasn’t impossible to win. If the two of us coordinated our joint attack well, we might be able to face him.

But it was at that moment.

Jeong Ian smiled sweetly at me, then stretched out his hand and shot flames towards… somewhere.

But where is that? I unconsciously followed the flames with my eyes to see where they were going. Because they were shot in such a completely random direction.

A place where there were no enemies, neither me, nor Ryuseong, nor baby Ryuseong. Then what was there?

I turned my head. And then I saw it.

The Named being <Mirror>, whom the hunters were diligently stalling, was there, and it was closing its eyes serenely as it watched the approaching flames.

“Don’t tell me…!”

At that moment, Jeong Ian burst into a high-pitched laugh.

But I know. If <Mirror> dies before the rescue is finished, and before Jeong Ian is dealt with, the dungeon will collapse. Naturally, the rescued people will be in danger, and Jeong Ian will be released into the outside world. I couldn’t have imagined a situation where Jeong Ian would kill a fellow monster, but…

Mirror’s head was severed and began to roll.

And the dungeon exploded.